Protective helmet accessory clamp



Dec. 19, 1961 J. c. MILLER 3,013,320

PROTECTIVE HELMET ACCESSORY CLAMP Filed Sept. 24, 1959 IN V EN TOR. JOHN C. Ill/ll ER United States Patent M 3,013,320 PROTECTIVE HELMET ACCESSORY CLAMP John C. Miller, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Mine Safety Appliances Company, Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. '24, 1959, Ser. No. 842,152 1 Claim. (Cl. 24263) This invention relates to protective helmets, and more particularly to means for suspending accessories therefrom.

it often is desirable to attach an accessory to a protective helmet. Such accessories include faceshields, welding helmets, goggles, protective hoods and noise attentuation devices. in the past, it has been the general practice to make such attachments to connectors permanently mounted in the rigid helmet shells. Consequently, for the great number of helmet shells that are in use but which are not provided with connectors, accessories cannot be used.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide means for quickly and easily attaching accessories to protective helmets, whether caps or hats, that have not been provided with connectors for that purpose.

In accordance with this invention, a clamp is provided that includes a support frame having a body, from which upper and lower arms project laterally. The frame is adapted to receive the marginal portion of the rigid shell of a protective cap or hat between them. The upper surface of the lower arm is concave lengthwise to fit against the convex lower surface of the marginal portion of a rigid cap shell. The support frame has at the inner end of the lower arm a surface for engaging the lower edge of the inclined brim of a rigid hat shell. The outer end of this arm is higher than the surface just mentioned, whereby to engage the bottom of the brim some distance from its edge. Threaded in the upper arm is a screw that has a lower end between the arms. A shoe is mounted on that lower end. The upper end of the screw is formed for manual rotation in order to cause the shoe to press a helmet shell against the lower arm, whereby the support frame will be clamped to the shell.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- FIG. 1 is a front view, partly broken away, of a protective cap provided with my clamps;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the clamp attached to the sectional brim of a protective hat;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the clamp; and

FIG. 4 is a view of the clamp, partly broken away, from the helmet side.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a protective cap is shown that has a rigid shell 1, the marginal portion of which is thickened and flares downwardly. The lower surface of the flared portion is convex. Most protective caps that are on the market have this same general shape. Attached to each side of the cap is one of my clamps.

Each clamp is formed from three parts; namely, a support frame 2, a screw 3 and a clamping shoe 4. The frame has a body 6 that is provided with laterally projecting upper and lower arms 7 and 8, respectively, between which the marginal portion of the cap extends. The lower arm preferably is longer than the upper one and its upper surface is concave lengthwise of the arm to fit against the convex lower surface of the cap shell. Since the flared portion of the shell is inclined, the upper arm likewise is inclined to above the same extent. The screw 3 is threaded in the upper arm and has a lower end between the arms. Mounted on this lower end is the shoe 4, which preferably is rectangular in plan and which has one end close to the frame body 6 between the arms so that 3,013,320 Patented Dec. 19, 1961 the shoe cannot rotate when the screw is turned by a knob 9 or the like on its upper end. The screw is rotatably mounted in the shoe in any suitable manner, such as by a hollow reduced extension 11 at its lower end (F165 2 and 4) extending into a downwardly flaring opening 12 in the shoe, where the extension is fiared out to hold the screw and shoe together. The knob may be turned by the fingers, or by a screwdriver or a coin inserted in a kerf 13, with which the top of the knob is provided. When the screw is turned in this manner to move the shoe downward, it will be pressed against the outside of the shell and will thereby press the underlying portion of the shell tightly against lower arm 8 to hold the clamp securely on the shell. The lower surface of the shoe is shaped to conform as nearly as possible to the adjoining surface of the shell, and for that purpose part of the shoe surface is flat and the rest is curved.

The body 6 of the support frame extends below its lower arm and is formed for attachment to an accessory in order to support such a device. For this purpose, it is preferred to provide the depending portion of the frame with a hole 14 so that a stud or bolt on the accessory can be inserted in the frame.

One of the features of this invention is that the clamp can be used equally well with the rigid shell of a protective hat. Such shells are provided with inclined brims. As shown in FIG. 3, to receive and fit against such a brim 16, the frame 2, at the inner end of lower arm 8, which is the end that is joined to frame body 6, has a surface for engagement by the lower end of the inclined brim. Preferably, this surface is formed by the bottom of an inclined notch 17 in the frame body between the arms. The outer end of the lower arm is higher than the notch so that that end of the arm will engage the bottom of the brim some distance from its edge. Also, the brim-engaging surface of the outer end of the arm preferably is fiat and located in the plane of the lower surface of the notch. The clamp is securely attached to the brim by turning screw 3 down to cause the shoe to press the brim tightly against the bottom of the notch and the outer end of the lower arm.

It will be seen that a clamp made in accordance with this invention can be quickly and easily attached to and I removed from a protective helmet, whether the helmet is a hat or a cap. No tools are required for attaching the clamp. It is strong and durable and its three parts are permanently connected together. A pair of these clamps serve very well for attaching accessories to a protective helmet.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claim, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

In head-protecting equipment an accessory clamp for the rigid shells of protective caps and hats, comprising a support frame having a body provided with laterally projecting upper and lower arms adapted to receive the mar ginal portion of such a shell between them, said body having a portion extending below the lower arm and provided with an opening having an axis extending lengthwise of the lower arm, the upper surface of the lower arm being concave lengthwise to fit against the convex lower surface of the marginal portion of a rigid cap shell, said body being provided between the arms with an inclined notch to receive the edge of the inclined brim of a rigid hat shell, the notch being spaced vertically from the adjacent ends of the two arms, the outer end of said lower arm lying substantially in the plane of the bottom of the notch to engage the bottom of said brim, a screw substantially perpendicular to said notch plane threaded in said upper arm and having a lower end between the arms, and a shoe mounted on said lower end of the screw, 5 the upper end of the screw being manually rotatable to cause the shoe to press one of said shells against the lower arm, the side of the body adjacent the screw above said notch being inclined at substantially the same angle as the screw and being closely adjacent to the shoe to pre- 10 vent the body from turning with the screw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

